If you are going to the movie with the desire to see Jason Statham kicking behinds, you will get your wish. For reasons of being too badass, he relocates with his daughter to a remote place infested with hillbillies. Them being what they are, they have to talk about his little girl with little political correctness and thus slightly annoy Statham. A lot of behind kicking ensues.
Now, sorry for spoiling the entire marvelous plot, but I thought the thing that made the movie stand out a little was the bits of emotional maturity that were peppered, much too rarely, throughout the movie. The little girl was taught to defend herself against bullies. When her father is called to school, he is not backing down to social pressure, nor does he stop giving support to his daughter's actions, since they were grounded in reason.
The junkie white thrash woman that causes most of the trouble just by blabbing her big mouth stops being such a bitch when the line is crossed and defends a little girl in distress, no matter who she is. The father of the bully and unfortunate husband of said woman is the poster child of hillbillies, but he is actually a non violent guy that just wants people to treat him right.
As for James Franco's character, it is complex and quite the driver of the entire plot. These little deviations from the typical storyline of bad versus badass make the film just entertaining enough to not stop it and do something else.
You will be surprised by the cast, as well. Winona Ryder seems to never really age; James Franco, of course, playing the cunning local drug dealer with dreams of greatness; Clancy Brown has a small role as the sheriff; Kate Bosworth is the loud mouthed woman; you will also probably recognize Omar Benson Miller or Linds Edwards. Of course, except for Statham and perhaps Franco, no one is of real note, but still.
Bottom line: a completely predictable and kind of silly plot mixed with bits of a better script and well built characters. It's like two screenwriters were doing the story (or one manager and a screenwriter). It is not the best action movie you have ever seen, but it is entertaining enough.
Now, sorry for spoiling the entire marvelous plot, but I thought the thing that made the movie stand out a little was the bits of emotional maturity that were peppered, much too rarely, throughout the movie. The little girl was taught to defend herself against bullies. When her father is called to school, he is not backing down to social pressure, nor does he stop giving support to his daughter's actions, since they were grounded in reason.
The junkie white thrash woman that causes most of the trouble just by blabbing her big mouth stops being such a bitch when the line is crossed and defends a little girl in distress, no matter who she is. The father of the bully and unfortunate husband of said woman is the poster child of hillbillies, but he is actually a non violent guy that just wants people to treat him right.
As for James Franco's character, it is complex and quite the driver of the entire plot. These little deviations from the typical storyline of bad versus badass make the film just entertaining enough to not stop it and do something else.
You will be surprised by the cast, as well. Winona Ryder seems to never really age; James Franco, of course, playing the cunning local drug dealer with dreams of greatness; Clancy Brown has a small role as the sheriff; Kate Bosworth is the loud mouthed woman; you will also probably recognize Omar Benson Miller or Linds Edwards. Of course, except for Statham and perhaps Franco, no one is of real note, but still.
Bottom line: a completely predictable and kind of silly plot mixed with bits of a better script and well built characters. It's like two screenwriters were doing the story (or one manager and a screenwriter). It is not the best action movie you have ever seen, but it is entertaining enough.